


Take the Cake

by QueenSabriel



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: F/M, Gen, brief racism, nothing violent but it is discussed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 16:50:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6337327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenSabriel/pseuds/QueenSabriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Ancelstierran garden party goes awry, but Sam finds a good resolution. (Response to the prompt "Yes, but who gets the cake? + Sam" by closetcellist on tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take the Cake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [closetcellist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/closetcellist/gifts).



Garden parties had to be one of the trickier aspects of Ancelstierran high society. Sabriel wasn’t sure who she should be more concerned about; her husband, or the children. Or herself, for that matter, seeing as she had not attended a gathering like this since she left Ancelstierre a whole five years ago. But here she was, perched on a lawn chair in a cheerfully colored sundress, with Sulyn sitting next to her.

“You need to relax,” Sulyn said. “Or people are going to think you’re stand-offish.”

“Maybe I _want_ to be stand-offish,” Sabriel replied. The last she had seen of Sam and Ellimere was when they ran off to play with the other children, and she had to exercise great self control not to hover. Touchstone at least was in her line of sight, standing over by the buffet tables talking to one of the junior ministers.

Sulyn watched her carefully for a moment. “Do you miss this? Is that it? Are you worried that if you get too comfortable you’ll actually admit that you miss this life?”

“I don’t,” Sabriel said a little too quickly. “I mean…I miss _you_ , but I don’t miss Ancelstierre nearly as much as I thought I would. I do sometimes think it would have been easier on Sam and Elli to be raised here but…”

“But you are a queen who loves her country,” Sulyn said sagely. Then she broke into giggles. “I still cannot get over that. You, a an actual queen. I mean _really_ , Sabriel.”

Sabriel put her hand over her mouth to stifle her own laughter. “Sulyn! I happen to be a very good queen, I’ll have you know.”

“Oh I don’t doubt that,” Sulyn waved her hand dismissively. “It’s still just weird to wrap my head around the fact that while I’m here worrying about my term papers and whether or not a hangover is worth going out on Saturday night, you’re up there making decisions that affect the lives of hundreds of people. Also that whole fighting monsters thing you do.”

“I know,” Sabriel said, grimacing. “But you get your degree and maybe you’ll get to make important decisions like that too.”

“I will,” Sulyn said. She straightened, tilting her chin up. “I _will_ be the first woman elected to the executive branch of the Moot, whether they like it or not.”

Sabriel grinned, but her expression faded when she glanced over and saw an unfamiliar woman approaching Touchstone, apparently dragging Sameth along with her. “Who is that?” Sabriel murmured, already half out of her seat.

“Oh. _That_ is Eustacia Moore,” Sulyn said. “I can’t stand her. She’s one of those people who probably don’t believe your kingdom even exists, I doubt she’s ever been farther north than Schulshire. You may want to go rescue your man, Sabriel…”

Sabriel didn’t need telling twice. She got to her feet and made a bee-line for her husband and son, the skirt of her sundress billowing around her legs.

She reached the group just in time to hear Eustacia Moore say, “Where _is_ this boy’s mother?”

A thoroughly baffled Touchstone gestured at Sabriel. “She’s uhm…right here…”

“You?” Eustacia looked Sabriel over skeptically. “You’re his mother? His birth mother?”

Sabriel stared at her, then glanced over at Touchstone, who mouthed a slow ‘ _What the…_ ’

Bending down, Sabriel scooped Sam into her arms and scowled at the other woman. “Excuse me? Yes of course I’m his mother isn’t that what I just - ”

“No need to lose your temper, dear,” Eustacia said, her lip curling a little. “You’ll really have to excuse my surprise, he’s just so much…well, darker than you…”

“Of course he’s darker than her, _I’m_ his father,” Touchstone said, an equal mix of confusion and annoyance evident in his voice.

Eustacia glanced at him, fleetingly. “So I gathered.”

Thankfully Sulyn appeared at that point, having gathered up Ellimere. “Eustacia!” Sulyn exclaimed. “Such a lovely surprise. Who let you out of your cage?”

“Miss Wing, friends of yours, I take it?” Eustacia said dryly.

A long moment of silence followed that remark, until Sulyn sharply sucked her teeth and said, “This must be so, _so_ awkward for you…Well, Eustacia, yes, but this is also King Touchstone and Queen Sabriel of the Old Kingdom…”

“Ah.” Eustacia pursed her lips. Far from looking embarrassed, she now cast Sabriel and Touchstone both a look of nearly utter distain. “Well I suppose that explains…this…” she said, gesturing at them.

“Care to explain why you were manhandling my son?” Sabriel asked.

“Because he was terrorizing _my_ children,” Eustacia replied. “Telling them that his magic cat was going to eat them or some utter nonsense like that. They’re going to have nightmares for weeks.”

There was a lot to absorb from that pronouncement, least of all the idea of Sameth terrorizing anyone. Sabriel fought valiantly against her first instinct, which was to simply start laughing. Instead she took a deep breath and looked down at Sam. “Sameth? Is that true?”

“Yeah…” Sam looked momentarily ashamed, then he quickly added, “Buh-but they said I’m dirty! Am not, I washded.”

Sabriel bit her lip, glaring at Eustacia. She wasn’t quite sure there was anything she could say to her that would be appropriate for the children to hear. So instead she said to Sam, “Do you want to some more food, Sam?”

“Yeah…” Sam craned his neck to see the buffet tables, where the wait staff were just setting out desserts. “Oooh, who gets the cake?!” he exclaimed, pointing to a particularly colorful one.

“I’m sure more food’s the last thing he needs,” Eustacia muttered.

Sabriel ignored her. “You do, Sam. You get _all_ of it.” Turning around she stomped off towards the long tables, and more importantly the cake that Sam had his eye on.

Sulyn sucked her teeth again and shook her head, stepping over to hand Ellimere to Touchstone. She glanced at Eustacia and gave a little wave. “Bye. Have fun never coming to another party again.” Winking at Touchstone, she took his arm and they started after Sabriel, albeit at a much slower pace.

As they drew nearer, Touchstone could see Sabriel and Sam had gotten seats at one of the little tables set up near the buffet. Sam was digging into an unnecessarily large piece of cake with enough zeal to indicate he had probably already forgotten the whole ordeal. Sabriel had her chin resting in one hand, watching Sam as he ate.

When Touchstone sat Ellimere down in one of the other chairs he expected her to demand her own cake, but instead she simply watched her brother with an entranced expression. “He gonna eat all of dat?”

“Looks like it, princess,” Touchstone said. He sat next to Sabriel, rubbing her back gently.

“Yum!” said Sam, holding up some very frosting-coated fingers.

Touchstone tilted his head, trying to get Sabriel to look at him. He finally leaned in and kissed her cheek. “My love…”

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking at him.

“You’re sorry? What, because that woman was being ridiculous?” Touchstone slid an arm around her. “I’m not even sure what she was upset about.”

Sabriel frowned down at the table cloth. “Some people here have this very _incorrect_ idea that people with dark skin are some how…different. And I should have warned you I didn’t think…I didn’t think about the fact that you might be treated differently or that Sam and Elli would be because I got so used to the Old Kingdom where no one bloody cares.”

“Oooooh Momma!” Elli interrupted. “Bad word.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Sabriel murmured. “I’m just upset. I don’t want anyone to ever make you feel like you’re bad, or different, or ugly…”

“I’m beautiful!” Ellimere declared, standing up on her chair. “An Daddy too. An’ Momma an….an maybe Sam.”

Sam just laughed, having too much fun smearing frosting on his face to worry about things like being pretty. He did look up at his mother with a look of faint concern and motion her closer. “Momma, c’mere.”

“Yes?” Sabriel said, leaning in a little.

Sam reached up and put a glob of frosting on her nose, then started laughing hysterically. Finally he calmed down enough to say, “Have some cake, Momma! Is tasty.”

“You know, I think I just might,” Sabriel said, using her thumb to remove the frosting from her nose before she leaned over and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the top of Sameth’s head.

 

 


End file.
